Consents debacle a failure of epic proportions

The fate of Christchurch
City Council’s consenting accreditation reveals the
severity of the breakdown in communication between the
National Government and the City Council, says Labour’s
Earthquake Recovery spokesperson Lianne
Dalziel.

“National granted itself overwhelming power in
the aftermath of the earthquakes to break down the barriers
to recovery. Instead, its efforts have been put into
maintaining a façade of co-operation at the expense of good
governance.

“After months of inaction and poor
performance news that the council has lost its right to
approve building consents is a failure of epic
proportions.

“The building consent debacle is a
disgrace. It is a failure of governance and management at
the highest level.

“Issuing building consents is a core
council function. What message does it send the Government
about this council’s capacity to lead the recovery when it
can’t even get the basics right?

“The consents debacle
is a three-pronged failure. It shows the Minister isn’t on
top of his portfolio, it reveals the Council’s staggering
inability to pass accreditation, and underlines the lack of
communication between all parties, which if functional,
might have helped the council maintain its
accreditation.

“How can you have an effective rebuild
when agencies at the helm stuff up like this?

“Gerry
Brownlee, Bob Parker and the wider team leading CERA, EQC
and the Council are focusing resources on covering up
problems rather than solving them.

“Was there anything
more predictable than an increase in building consent
applications after an earthquake? The Minister should have
demanded weekly progress reports. The Press reported in
November last year that the council could be stripped of its
ability to issue building consents, so why weren’t those
reports on the Mayor’s desk every week?

“The reality
is the warnings were there and no one noticed. This is just
another example of the entirely unsatisfactory culture that
has been allowed to prevail for too long,” Lianne Dalziel
said.

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